Aristarchus of Samothrace

Aristarchus of Samothrace (ărˌĭstärˈkəs, sămˈəthrās) [key], c.217–c.145 B.C., Greek scholar, successor to his teacher, Aristophanes of Byzantium, as librarian at Alexandria. He was an innovator of scientific scholarship, and his critical revision of Homer is responsible for the excellent texts of Homer that survive. Though only fragments of his works survive (he is said to have written more than 800 volumes of commentary and exegesis), frequent quotations by ancient critics provide an insight into his subjects and method. His works cover such writers as Alcaeus, Anacreon, Pindar, Hesiod, and the tragedians.